How to be a good tutor

[pi]

 

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to get yourself a Working With Children Check. By law, all tutors are required to have a Working With Children Check. I know the vast majority of tutors out there do not have one, so you may be wondering why you should even bother to get it. If you are found out to be working without a Working With Children Check, severe penalties apply to both you and your client. By advertising yourself with a Working With Children Check, you are immediately informing potential clients that it is a requirement for all tutors to have one and instantly makes you stand out from the rest of the pack as a dedicated tutor that cares in your students' learning. It also gives the client a sense of trust and belief in who you are and overall, you are far more likely to have success in gaining work.

Good point, wonder how many tutors actually have one

[Stick]

Could my guides be stickied by any chance?

[duhherro]

do not make your clients decide whether or not to keep you as their child's tutor right in front of your face. I


Haha can't stress this enough , it is really annoying to the person being tutored and makes them feel uncomfortable and insignificant.

[Muuru]

Brilliant guide!

I absolutely agree with your point that sufficient content knowledge alone is not enough to tutor effectively, and that's something a lot of so-called aspiring "tutors" fail to realise (many of whom are on this very site). It's always amusing to see tutors show off their fancy ATARs, study scores, prizes, scholarships, etc., yet they show no evidence at all of pedagogical knowledge (i.e., knowing how to tutor effectively), which is far more important.

The key difference between effective and ineffective tutors is that effective tutors know how to draw out the best in their client (client-centred) whereas ineffective ones merely lecture the client and expect them to "just get it" (tutor-centred). From what I've read, most tutors on this site are tutor-centred in that they emphasise their own achievements (i.e., they're egocentric) and believe that their content knowledge will somehow rub off onto the client. You'll find that these types of tutors prefer working with many different clients for very brief periods of time rather than a select few over a longer period of time (quantity over quality), which doesn't show a great deal of regard for the learning process.

I'll be considering tutoring services for my son when he enters VCE (he's only 5, so there's still a long way to go!), but I know right now that the main things I'll be looking for in a tutor are decent content knowledge (i.e., "do you know your subject?") and, more importantly, pedagogical know-how (i.e., "can you deliver the content effectively?"). If I looked at a tutoring advertisement and all I saw was a list of the tutor's academic achievements with a brief passing comment that they know "the best way" to tutor my son, I'd close the window right away. In fact, I've yet to find a single tutoring advertisement on this site that doesn't fall under this category.

At the end of the day, a person who scored an ATAR of 99.95 yet has an appalling pedagogical technique (if any) and awful communication skills is about as effective as somebody who has an ATAR of 60.00 and shows superior communication skills and a willingness to bring out the best in their client. Nobody cares how high your ATAR is, whether you achieved multiple study scores of 50, whether you received a VCE Premier's award, etc., etc. The most important thing you can do is to demonstrate that you can actually tutor, and possessing sufficient content knowledge is only one part of the equation!

[paulsterio]

It depends on why a student is seeking tuition. Sometimes, some students seek tuition not because they want to be taught, but because they want the tips and tricks and insider information that will help them get from a 48 to a 50.

For example, I've had students who come to me not because they want me to teach them Maths Methods (for example), but because they want me to tell them how they can get a 50, they're already sufficiently strong enough academically, it's just about tuning the edges and I think this is where the good scores come into play.

[betruetoyou22]

Tutoring - it's more than just a quick buck

By Stick

Am I the right type of person to be a tutor?

I think the title sums it up beautifully; if you are wanting to become a tutor just to make some quick cash, you would be better off finding another job. Clients come to you because they need help and in many cases are looking to you for inspiration and motivation. Just because you got a study score of 50 in Specialist Maths doesn't automatically mean you will make a great Maths tutor. Being able to understand, but also convey, the theory and information successfully is far more important. It is one thing to be able to process the information yourself in your head, but how will you communicate this to someone else so they will understand? Good tutors also need to be understanding, patient, show initiative and in many cases, adapt to new styles of learning. It requires real dedication to become a tutor.

Tutoring can be extremely frustrating and is certainly not an easy task. If you start to tutor for all the wrong reasons, it will come across in your work. You will find staying with clients more difficult and your poor experience will make it harder to find new clients.

There are an awful amount of tutors out there. How can I set myself apart from the rest of the pack?

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to get yourself a Working With Children Check. By law, all tutors are required to have a Working With Children Check. I know the vast majority of tutors out there do not have one, so you may be wondering why you should even bother to get it. If you are found out to be working without a Working With Children Check, severe penalties apply to both you and your client. By advertising yourself with a Working With Children Check, you are immediately informing potential clients that it is a requirement for all tutors to have one and instantly makes you stand out from the rest of the pack as a dedicated tutor that cares in your students' learning. It also gives the client a sense of trust and belief in who you are and overall, you are far more likely to have success in gaining work.

Qualified teachers in certified tuition companies will also be competing with you for work. They will have a lot of experience in tutoring and will also be allowed to work with children as they have Victorian Institute of Teaching Accreditation. However, they will also charge accordingly (approximately $60-$75 per hour). Despite having little experience in tuition, you offer a far cheaper, yet equally trustworthy, alternative to a professional teacher as a tutor with a Working With Children Check.

When it comes to pricing, try to keep your services competitive amongst your fellow 'student' tutors as well. By offering a free first lesson and keeping the price of your tuition services low, you are basically making yourself the perfect deal for a potential client.

When creating your personal advertisement, remember that it will mainly be viewed by parents or guardians, not the student itself. Hence, use appropriate language and take care in your spelling, punctuation and grammar. Make sure you have a clear format and use bold, italic and underlined text appropriately. Do not come across as childish or cocky. All these little measures show you to be a responsible and dedicated tutor and this will benefit you in finding placements.

If you are responding to a 'Wanted' advertisement, send your own personal tuition advertisement, but also address the client's comments. Show them why you are their solution, on a personal level. Also send through your resume so they can gain further insight as to who you are as a person. Again, ensure the appropriate format and language is used, as this also conveys a sense of dedication to the client. There are many guides and services out there that can help you with creating a favourable CV, so I will not go into it here. Feel free to use these resources should you feel it is necessary.

Yay! I've received a tuition request. What do I do now?

Congratulations on receiving a request. You are half way to becoming a successful tutor. Now you will need to organise a time to tutor your client and also go through the expectations and desires of both the student and the parents/guardians.

I highly recommend meeting the parent(s)/guardian(s) in a mutually agreed public place, such as a cafe, to arrange this. At the very least, you should be completing this process by phone. Many tutors will use emails and text messages to hide poor communication skills. By physically meeting your client, or at least talking to them, you are able to show off your ability in communicating to others. Go through with them what they expect of you and what they would like for their child. Is the student a high achiever and is looking for extension work, or is the student struggling and is looking for extra help? When and where will you tutor your client? This all needs to be made clear so you can organise your classes and your resources appropriately.

As a courteous tutor, try to work around your client's preferred times and locations, rather than making them fit your schedule (within reason, of course). If they request a time which you cannot do, just politely explain why you will be unable to do it and offer a similar time that works for you. If the client is happy to travel to your place, that's great, but if they would like to be taught in their own home, try to fulfill this commitment. Again, if the client's residence is too far, just politely explain and try to arrange for a mutually agreed location (the state library tends to be a popular choice).

If you are offering your first lesson for free (highly recommended), do not make your clients decide whether or not to keep you as their child's tutor right in front of your face. It places all parties involved in a very awkward situation. Give them time to discuss and think about your placement and tell them they can inform you of their decision in a couple of days.

Remember that this may be the student's first tutor, so the experience can be a little daunting initially. Try to go out of your way so that your clients feel as comfortable as possible so you will be more likely to get the best from your student.

So everything has been arranged with my client. How do I prepare for lessons?

Reflect on the students needs, as well as the expectations the client has on you and organise what you will teach from beforehand. Have an appropriate variety of text forms (books, visuals, old tests etc.) and have backup plans in case your student is finding your work too easy or hard. As you get to know your students better, planning lessons will become far easier as you will adapt to their learning techniques.

So the big day has arrived. How should I tutor my student?

It is extremely important to have a really positive attitude. They might feel a bit down about needing tutoring and might be a bit unsure of themselves and as a tutor, it is your responsibility to get them motivated and working. Remember that the lesson plan is merely a guide. Try to move at their pace, rather than rush them through so you can get through your intended lesson plan, as this defeats the purpose of tutoring altogether. Discuss which methods of learning work best for your student so you can prepare for lessons accordingly.

Communicate information as clearly as possible and do not move onto another area until your student has assured you they understand. When it comes to homework, do not overload them with tasks to complete. Your student will already have plenty of homework from school and as a tutor, you are to complement the work completed at school. Remember your place as the tutor and not as the primary teacher. Encourage your student to ask their teachers frequently for help and talk to their parent(s)/guardian(s) about keeping open communication lines when it comes to them completing homework. Do not tell your student off if they have not completed your homework, especially if it was because they did not understand it or if it was too much. Instead, encourage that work is completed and explain the benefits it will have on their education as a whole, compared to it not being done at all.

The most important part of tutoring a student is to have a personal desire for your student to achieve their goals. If you truly care about the success of your students, you will be more likely to ensure they do succeed. I would recommend tutoring no more than 2-3 students as this develops stronger, closer relationships with your students and they are more likely to get the best from you as their tutor.

So as you can see, being a tutor is not as easy as it seems. But I hope I have shown you that tutoring can be a highly rewarding experience and can be one of the most enjoyable pre-career jobs in your life.

Please feel free to ask questions or leave advice. I will be sure to include more important information in this guide.

Apart from atar notes, where else can one advertise for their tutoring? Do you know any good websites?

Also how do you obtain a "working with children check" ?

Thanks for the advise. Very, very helpful

[betruetoyou22]

Tutoring - it's more than just a quick buck

By Stick

Am I the right type of person to be a tutor?

I think the title sums it up beautifully; if you are wanting to become a tutor just to make some quick cash, you would be better off finding another job. Clients come to you because they need help and in many cases are looking to you for inspiration and motivation. Just because you got a study score of 50 in Specialist Maths doesn't automatically mean you will make a great Maths tutor. Being able to understand, but also convey, the theory and information successfully is far more important. It is one thing to be able to process the information yourself in your head, but how will you communicate this to someone else so they will understand? Good tutors also need to be understanding, patient, show initiative and in many cases, adapt to new styles of learning. It requires real dedication to become a tutor.

Tutoring can be extremely frustrating and is certainly not an easy task. If you start to tutor for all the wrong reasons, it will come across in your work. You will find staying with clients more difficult and your poor experience will make it harder to find new clients.

There are an awful amount of tutors out there. How can I set myself apart from the rest of the pack?

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to get yourself a Working With Children Check. By law, all tutors are required to have a Working With Children Check. I know the vast majority of tutors out there do not have one, so you may be wondering why you should even bother to get it. If you are found out to be working without a Working With Children Check, severe penalties apply to both you and your client. By advertising yourself with a Working With Children Check, you are immediately informing potential clients that it is a requirement for all tutors to have one and instantly makes you stand out from the rest of the pack as a dedicated tutor that cares in your students' learning. It also gives the client a sense of trust and belief in who you are and overall, you are far more likely to have success in gaining work.

Qualified teachers in certified tuition companies will also be competing with you for work. They will have a lot of experience in tutoring and will also be allowed to work with children as they have Victorian Institute of Teaching Accreditation. However, they will also charge accordingly (approximately $60-$75 per hour). Despite having little experience in tuition, you offer a far cheaper, yet equally trustworthy, alternative to a professional teacher as a tutor with a Working With Children Check.

When it comes to pricing, try to keep your services competitive amongst your fellow 'student' tutors as well. By offering a free first lesson and keeping the price of your tuition services low, you are basically making yourself the perfect deal for a potential client.

When creating your personal advertisement, remember that it will mainly be viewed by parents or guardians, not the student itself. Hence, use appropriate language and take care in your spelling, punctuation and grammar. Make sure you have a clear format and use bold, italic and underlined text appropriately. Do not come across as childish or cocky. All these little measures show you to be a responsible and dedicated tutor and this will benefit you in finding placements.

If you are responding to a 'Wanted' advertisement, send your own personal tuition advertisement, but also address the client's comments. Show them why you are their solution, on a personal level. Also send through your resume so they can gain further insight as to who you are as a person. Again, ensure the appropriate format and language is used, as this also conveys a sense of dedication to the client. There are many guides and services out there that can help you with creating a favourable CV, so I will not go into it here. Feel free to use these resources should you feel it is necessary.

Yay! I've received a tuition request. What do I do now?

Congratulations on receiving a request. You are half way to becoming a successful tutor. Now you will need to organise a time to tutor your client and also go through the expectations and desires of both the student and the parents/guardians.

I highly recommend meeting the parent(s)/guardian(s) in a mutually agreed public place, such as a cafe, to arrange this. At the very least, you should be completing this process by phone. Many tutors will use emails and text messages to hide poor communication skills. By physically meeting your client, or at least talking to them, you are able to show off your ability in communicating to others. Go through with them what they expect of you and what they would like for their child. Is the student a high achiever and is looking for extension work, or is the student struggling and is looking for extra help? When and where will you tutor your client? This all needs to be made clear so you can organise your classes and your resources appropriately.

As a courteous tutor, try to work around your client's preferred times and locations, rather than making them fit your schedule (within reason, of course). If they request a time which you cannot do, just politely explain why you will be unable to do it and offer a similar time that works for you. If the client is happy to travel to your place, that's great, but if they would like to be taught in their own home, try to fulfill this commitment. Again, if the client's residence is too far, just politely explain and try to arrange for a mutually agreed location (the state library tends to be a popular choice).

If you are offering your first lesson for free (highly recommended), do not make your clients decide whether or not to keep you as their child's tutor right in front of your face. It places all parties involved in a very awkward situation. Give them time to discuss and think about your placement and tell them they can inform you of their decision in a couple of days.

Remember that this may be the student's first tutor, so the experience can be a little daunting initially. Try to go out of your way so that your clients feel as comfortable as possible so you will be more likely to get the best from your student.

So everything has been arranged with my client. How do I prepare for lessons?

Reflect on the students needs, as well as the expectations the client has on you and organise what you will teach from beforehand. Have an appropriate variety of text forms (books, visuals, old tests etc.) and have backup plans in case your student is finding your work too easy or hard. As you get to know your students better, planning lessons will become far easier as you will adapt to their learning techniques.

So the big day has arrived. How should I tutor my student?

It is extremely important to have a really positive attitude. They might feel a bit down about needing tutoring and might be a bit unsure of themselves and as a tutor, it is your responsibility to get them motivated and working. Remember that the lesson plan is merely a guide. Try to move at their pace, rather than rush them through so you can get through your intended lesson plan, as this defeats the purpose of tutoring altogether. Discuss which methods of learning work best for your student so you can prepare for lessons accordingly.

Communicate information as clearly as possible and do not move onto another area until your student has assured you they understand. When it comes to homework, do not overload them with tasks to complete. Your student will already have plenty of homework from school and as a tutor, you are to complement the work completed at school. Remember your place as the tutor and not as the primary teacher. Encourage your student to ask their teachers frequently for help and talk to their parent(s)/guardian(s) about keeping open communication lines when it comes to them completing homework. Do not tell your student off if they have not completed your homework, especially if it was because they did not understand it or if it was too much. Instead, encourage that work is completed and explain the benefits it will have on their education as a whole, compared to it not being done at all.

The most important part of tutoring a student is to have a personal desire for your student to achieve their goals. If you truly care about the success of your students, you will be more likely to ensure they do succeed. I would recommend tutoring no more than 2-3 students as this develops stronger, closer relationships with your students and they are more likely to get the best from you as their tutor.

So as you can see, being a tutor is not as easy as it seems. But I hope I have shown you that tutoring can be a highly rewarding experience and can be one of the most enjoyable pre-career jobs in your life.

Please feel free to ask questions or leave advice. I will be sure to include more important information in this guide.

On the working with children check website it quotes:
"Pay the application fee of $100.20 if you are applying for an Employee card. This fee is not refundable. Volunteer applications are free. "

What is the purpose of an employee card and is tutoring under the volunteer applications?

[tassie]

The 'employee card' actually means a WWCC that you will use when working with children and are getting paid for it. There are two types of WWCC like you said; the employee version and the volunteer version - if you are going to be tutoring as a job i.e getting paid for it then you need the employee one which has a fee (as you said above). If you are tutoring for free like working at a church or some community centre then you can get the WWCC volunteer version since you are not being paid for your services and it's free

[RosalindGermain]

This is spot on

Yah! your right, really a BIG SPOT ON!

[Stick]

I hope it helps me appear more favourable to potential students now.

[MicheleHamilton]

Actually being a good tutor is not that big deal if you love your work you can be a good tutor.